Passes & Canyons Blog

I got a lot of good riding out of this bike and it hurt to sell it, but I’m not unhappy that it’s gone.

As all regular readers of this blog are aware, I sold my 1999 Kawasaki Concours back in March. It was the first time I had ever parted with a motorcycle that I owned. Riding for 35 years, I have owned three bikes and still own and ride two of them. Selling the Connie really brought mixed emotions.

It didn’t help, of course, that I ended up letting it go for a pittance. But after problems at the end of last year’s OFMC trip, and months spent waiting for the shop where I took it to do . . . nothing . . . it really was something of a relief to be done with it. But it was still sad and a bit wrenching.

During this time I looked around and found a used Yamaha FJ-09 at Vickery Motorsports that I was very interested in but until I could clear space in my garage I had nowhere to go with it. By the time the Kawi was gone the FJ-09 was, too.

So now whenever I get together with friends the question always comes up, are you going to get a new bike? My answer is as surprising to me as it is to them: No.

No, I really kind of like only having two bikes. I like having room in my workshop to use it as a workshop, rather than as a garage. I like having one less vehicle to maintain, pay taxes on, and pay insurance on. And it had gotten hard to find someone to work on such an old bike.

I also like not jockeying around this really heavy machine. Both my other bikes are much lighter than the Concours and I had been aware for a long time that the day was going to come as I get older when I was not going to feel up to handling that heavy thing. I’m not at that point, but already being free of that feels good. I also don’t miss having to deal with all that bodywork–the plastic panels covering the engine and forming the fairing. That stuff makes any work you do on the bike twice as much of a hassle.

Still, having finally sold a bike, I now feel a new freedom to think about doing so again. My main bike now is my 2006 Suzuki V-Strom 650 and I like it a lot but truth be told, I really would not mind something just a little bigger. Like that FJ-09, or the newer Yamaha Tracer. When I’m riding the V at highway speeds that little engine is very busy. An 850cc or 900cc engine would not have to be working quite so hard to hit those high speeds. Plus, the V-Strom is old enough that it’s now an issue to find someone to work on it.

I’m in no hurry, but what I foresee is to find an FJ or Tracer, buy it, and immediately turn around and sell the V-Strom. But right now I have not looked at bikes for sale at all, and I have no inclination as yet to begin. I’m just enjoying the two bikes I have.

Biker Quote for Today

Nothing compares to the simple pleasure of riding a motorcycle.

It was rides like this one with the RMMRC that put all those miles on my V-Strom in 2023.

I noted down the odometer readings on my vehicles on December 31 once I knew I wasn’t going anywhere else that day. Once again, as has been the case every year for quite a few years, I put a lot more miles on my three motorcycles than I did on my car. In fact, once again, I put more miles on one particular bike than I did on the car.

My mileage on the car was up about 500 miles last year, all the way to 3,062. That compares to 2,506 in 2022. But I put 3,940 miles on the V-Strom, which was 74 miles more than the previous year. That’s the third time the Suzuki has gone more miles than the car.

It used to be that the Concours was the bike that out-distanced the car, often by a heck of a lot. For instance, in 2010 the Concours to Elantra numbers were 10,004 and 5,581. In 2011 they were 6,875 and 3,556. In 2012 they were 9,437 and 5,061. But now apparently I ride the V-Strom more.

In fact, my Concours number was only 1,849 in 2023, compared to 2,354 in 2022. Part of that had to do with it being out of commission after overheating up by the Eisenhower Tunnel coming home from the OFMC trip. It was nearly two months before that bike was rideable again.

I know I’m not going to get big numbers on my CB750 so my target each year is to put at least 1,000 miles on it. Once again I was unsuccessful. I only racked up 672 miles on that bike in 2023, which was down from the 729 miles in 2022. I try to favor that bike for that very reason but I guess I just don’t do it enough. A new year’s resolution I’ll try once again to keep.

Altogether in 2023 I put 6,461 miles on my bikes. This is down a bit from the previous year, when I rode them 6,949. My total mileage on all four vehicles for 2023 was 9,523 compared to 9,455 in 2022. Are most people as consistent as I am?

Biker Quote for Today

Distance is just a number when you ride a bike.

I’ve loved this bike but I’m ready to let it go.

The latest on this idea I’ve had to swap out my 1999 Kawasaki Concours for a 2015 Yamaha FJ-09 is that the status quo seems to be reclaiming the momentum.

I really have made up my mind that I would like to let go of the Connie and replace it with something more modern, but as I said, I have to get rid of the Connie before I can do anything else. And that has been complicated by the presence of a mechanical issue, making the sale of the Connie extremely questionable.

Well, I talked with Mark at Rowdy Rocket Garage about what it would cost to fix the Kawi. I just didn’t want to spend $500 or more only to turn around and sell the bike for something less than the repair cost. It turns out, Mark said diagnosing the problem would take less than an hour of shop time, at $90 per hour, and then that would clarify what the fix would cost. Probably not a lot, he said. So now I’m looking–maybe–at having the Connie running well again for maybe as little as $200. OK Mark, when can I get the bike in to you?

As usual, for Mark it’s a matter of having to get a bike out before he can take another in. Check back in a few days. I did. Check back in a few days. Here we go again.

But now I’m totally onto the idea of fixing the Kawi. That way, I can just keep riding it, and enjoying riding it, and during next year’s riding season I can put the bike up for sale and hopefully get a decent price for it. Then, and only then, I can start looking for a bike to buy, and just be patient, take my time, and wait until I find a really great deal.

Yes that means that I’ll miss out on this FJ-09 over at Vickery, which is really too bad because it already has all the extras and is at a good price now. But they won’t have that bike come June or whenever I might manage to sell the Kawi. And wherever I find another one it probably won’t be five miles from my house. Although that could be OK; if I have to fly to Seattle and ride the bike home, oh, please don’t throw me in that briar patch. (Do people today understand that reference? If not, see Br’er Fox and Br’er Rabbit.)

The flip side is that maybe sometime next year I’ll be able to find a newer bike of the same sort for the same price. That would suit me fine. One thing I’m good at is patience. And maybe by then I’ll be willing to spend even more and get something even newer than that. To quote Irma Thomas, via the Rolling Stones, “Time is on my side, yes it is.”

Biker Quote for Today

Life is short, so grip it and rip it.

Getting loaded up for a tow to Georgetown.

This story just came to a close about 15 minutes ago, although the broader story is still ongoing.

Yesterday we were coming home from a 10-day ride, 2,400-mile through Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, Nevada, and Utah and back to Colorado. We left Grand Junction about 8:45 a.m., taking I-70 all the way, and I was looking forward to being home about 1 p.m. Ha! I finally made it home last night at 10 p.m.

We figured leaving Junction when we did we would beat the really bad traffic down the mountain that you always get on Sunday. Ha! We started getting into heavy traffic at about Vail. Still, we kept moving at good speed. We stopped for gas and lunch at Frisco, then got back on the highway and traffic was no longer clipping along. Down to Silverthorne and starting up toward the Eisenhower Tunnel it was traffic like you expect to see on a Sunday at maybe 3 p.m., and it was only 11:30.

Laboriously, clutch-hand-killingly, we inched our way toward the tunnel. There are three traffic lanes going up and there is an emergency vehicle lane on the right and I was eyeing that really wanting to do it. If any other bike had come along up that lane I would have gotten right in behind them, but none did.

Suddenly, about half a mile from the tunnel, vapor started rising from my engine and I could smell coolant. Oh crap. I pulled my Kawasaki Concours over into the emergency lane and parked. Getting off the bike I could see coolant dripping onto the ground. Damn!

I belong to the American Motorcyclist Association and am signed up for their roadside assistance program so I immediately called. Yes, the bike is off the road and yes I’m in a safe spot. Fine, they’ll text me when a tow truck is dispatched for me. Fortunately, after all this ungodly hot weather it was cool up there, and in fact while I waited I added an extra layer to stay warm. Vastly better than baking out somewhere with no shade.

While I sat there a few bikes passed in among the rest of the traffic but three bikes individually cruised by in the emergency vehicle lane. I knew I should have done that.

Nearly two hours later I hadn’t even received a text and a tow truck driver pulled up and asked if I wanted a ride. Probably, I told him, but let me check with my service provider. The lady at AMA roadside assistance said yes, do it, especially since it was now starting to rain and there was lightning all around. File for reimbursement later.

This guy was a total character. He was an “emergency vehicle” so he used that status to his advantage to the hilt. He took routes you and I don’t even know exist. When he needed to get back into regular traffic he informed the cars on the road that he was coming–he did not ask.

We talked about where to go. I had figured it just made the most sense to haul the bike all the way to my house. He told me that would cost more than $1,000. For $350 he could take me to Georgetown, to the visitor center right there by the exit. Fine, let’s do that. Then as we cruised along he suggested that for a tip he could take me on to the Evergreen Walmart. Why would I want to go there? That’s way out of the way. No, he said, it’s right off the interstate. It’s at the Chief Hosa exit. How much for a tip? $100. I don’t think fast on my feet and just said no, Georgetown will be fine. Wrong choice!

At Georgetown I again called AMA and put in a new service request. This time I got a text almost instantly that Scorpion Towing, out of Idaho Springs, had the order and would be there in 90-120 minutes. A not unexpected time frame.

At the stroke of 120 minutes I got a text from AMA asking if he had arrived or otherwise contacted me. I said no. I immediately got a call from an agent who said she would reassign the order. After sitting on hold for a long time she came back on and said she was having trouble finding someone to do the tow and we would hang up and I would receive a text when a provider was assigned.

At the stroke of three hours I got another text asking me if I was still waiting. I said yes. Call the tow company or call us back, was the directive. I called the tow company but all I got was a message saying “if you’re calling about arrival time just wait and we’ll let you know when someone is on their way.” Oh, that’s encouraging.

Another hour passed and I called AMA again. Now the woman (a different person each time I called) told me it was time to take a different approach. Quite simply, she said, they were not going to be able to get anyone out to me today. But they could schedule a pick-up for 8 a.m. the next morning. OK, I said, I’ll call my wife in Denver to come get me in Georgetown. As long as the fork was not locked and the bike could be put in neutral I would not have to be there. Fine. I called Judy, she drove up, and finally at 10 p.m. I was home. But the bike was still in Georgetown.

In the morning I tried calling AMA but they were stacked up so I didn’t wait. The visitor center opens at 9 a.m. so at 9:05 I called and asked if there was still a burgundy motorcycle in their lot. Recall, the pick-up was scheduled for 8 a.m. Yes, the woman told me, the bike was still there.

I called AMA again and this time got right through. The guy I spoke with checked the ticket and found that it had a pick-up set for 8 a.m. on Tuesday, tomorrow. Oops. He corrected that and then set about finding a tow company. After being on hold a very long time he came back on the line and told me they simply could not find anyone to help me out. Every tow company he contacted declined either because of the distance or because it was a motorcycle. I was on my own.

I had no idea what to do but then I thought of Joel, my mechanic. I called him and told him, Joel, I desperately need your help. His truck that he uses for towing is in North Dakota with his wife at the moment but maybe he could get his neighbor’s truck and his own trailer and do it. He’d let me know. A little later he called and it was a go. Whew!

Finally, about 45 minutes ago now, the Kawi was delivered. At this point I didn’t care what Joel asked in payment, I would have given him the moon. But he actually asked a very modest–by towing standards–amount and I gladly paid it.

And by the way, he told me, it’s probably not a coolant line rupture, just overheating and overflow. He said if a line breaks it dumps all the coolant immediately. My description of watching it drip tells him it was just overheating, despite the liquid cooling system. You’ve still got to have airflow through that radiator. If it had been him, he said, he would not have hesitated to take the emergency vehicle lane.

So the simple test, Joel said, is just to fill the coolant tank with water and run the bike up to operating temperature. If it was just a matter of overheating it will be fine and nothing will come out. If liquid still comes out it really is a problem. But if it doesn’t, no problem. Just refill it with coolant.

Man, what a hassle. And if Joel is right, I could have just ridden on home after letting the bike cool off for a while. So now I need to run a test.

Biker Quote for Today

The path to enlightenment is not always straight and narrow.